The present invention relates generally to devices and mechanisms for attaching auxiliary devices or accessories such as lights, sights, etc. to a firearm. More specifically, the present invention relates to devices and methods for alternating an engagement interface associated with securing accessories to a hand guard secured to an underlying firearm.
Firearm accessory rails, such as the widely used picatinny rail, which is commonly identified as a MIL-STD-1913 rail, STANAG 2324 rail, or tactical rail, provide a heavily accepted standardized platform for attaching auxiliary devices or accessories to a firearm. Such accessories can include sights, telescopic sights, magnifiers, lights, night vision devices, ammunition clips, auxiliary supports such as bipods and/or tripods, for example. Such accessory rails are commonly secured to a firearm to provide a platform that allows the user to easily modify a firearm configuration by quickly attaching and/or detaching desired accessories to and from the projections associated with the respective rails to achieve a desired configuration of the firearm. Many such accessories are configured to tool-lessly cooperate with the underlying rail to improve the efficiency with which the desired accessories can be associated with the underlying firearm.
Generally, accessories are coupled to accessory rails by utilizing accessory adapter devices, which are secured to the respective accessory and configured to releasably cooperate with the rails. Once an accessory is coupled to an adapter device, the releasable locking mechanism of the adapter device allows a user to modify the configuration of the firearm by selectively attaching, detaching, and reattaching the adapter device to the underlying firearm in a desired position and as a given situation may dictate.
Although picatinny rail and associated adapter devices provide the advantage of quick field modification of firearm configurations, such accessory mounting methodologies present several disadvantages. For instance, picatinny rail configurations are generally rigid closed form bodies. The rail sections commonly extend along a forward portion of the firearm and are commonly referred to as a hand guard in that the rail sections prevent contact between the barrel portion of the firearm and the forward oriented hand of the shooter. The closed elongated form of such accessory mounting rails tends to substantially increase the weight of the firearm equipped with such accessory rails. Further, picatinny accessory rails are limited to cooperation with picatinny compliant adapter devices and the accessories associated therewith. That is, accessories must be configured for cooperation or interaction with a picatinny rail prior to utilization of the accessory with a firearm equipped with a picatinny mounting rail.
Recognizing the shortcomings associated with the weight of picatinny accessory mounting rails and/or hand guards that incorporate the same, others provide hand guards that are constructed to cooperate with a firearm but which include more open space associated with the construction of the hand guard assembly. Generating the open spaces reduces the weight of the hand guard but requires cooperation with non-picatinny compliant adapter devices to facilitate the secure connection of accessories with the underlying hand guard.
One such hand guard construction or accessory mounting interface that includes a number of open spaces to reduce the weight associated with the hand guard or accessory mount adapter is commonly known as an M-Lok® interface. The M-Lok® engagement interface includes a number of elongated channels or grooves that are generally oriented in rows aligned with a longitudinal axis of the hand guard. Accessory mounting adapters are secured to rail sections via a fastener and nut pair that cooperate with a respective channel for securing accessories or accessory mounting devices to the rail. Each channel associated the M-Lok® engagement interface is longitudinally and laterally symmetric relative to the centerline axis of the respective channel.
Another hand guard or accessory mounting device engagement interface configuration intended to reduce the weight associated with securing accessories to a firearm is commonly referred to as a KEYMOD® attachment system. Like the M-Lok® interface, the KEYMOD® interface includes a plurality of elongated channels or grooves that are oriented in rows along the longitudinal length of the hand guard or accessory mounting system wherein the number of channels are symmetrical relative to a longitudinal axis of each channel.
Unlike the M-Lok® engagement interface, the channels or openings of the KEYMOD® engagement interface are asymmetrical with respect to centerline axis of the respective channel that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. That is, one end of the elongated channel associate with the KEYMOD® engagement interface has a larger footprint than the opposing end of the respective channel. Commonly, the end associated with the larger footprint portion of the channel is located more rearward than the other end relative to the direction of the muzzle of the underlying firearm. Both the M-Lok® interface and the KEYMOD® interface can provide dramatic weight savings as compared to picatinny rail engagement interfaces but both systems suffer from a drawback common to picatinny rail engagement interfaces, M-Lok® engagement interfaces, and KEYMOD® engagement interfaces.
Each of the rails and accessory adapter devices associated with the picatinny rail engagement interfaces, M-Lok® engagement interfaces, and KEYMOD® engagement interfaces are configured to cooperate with accessory mounting devices that are constructed to cooperate with only one of the underlying engagement interfaces. That is, the shape, spacing, and orientation of the various openings or channels and the adjoining projections or rigid structures associated with each of the engagement interface configurations is sufficiently unique so as to require a mating device have a generally unique mating construction or interface configuration to accommodate the secure connectivity between the respective connectable portions associated with the respective interface configurations. That is, accessory mounting devices configured to cooperate with one of a picatinny rail engagement interface, M-Lok® engagement interface, and KEYMOD® engagement interface are generally incapable of securely cooperating with others of the picatinny rail engagement interface, M-Lok® engagement interface, and KEYMOD® engagement interface.
For instance, a user having a firearm equipped with a mounting rail having a particular engagement interface configuration, commonly has various accessories and associated accessory mounting devices that are configured to removably cooperate with the particular engagement interface. Converting the engagement interface associated with the firearm to another of the picatinny, M-Lok®, or KEYMOD® engagement interfaces, requires the user to convert each accessory, if such an accessory mounting device is even available, to the mating portion associated with the corresponding engagement interface. Such a consideration nearly entirely negates any infield alteration of the accessory mounting platform and limits use of any unexpectedly available accessories with a respective firearm unless such accessories are already configured for cooperation with the underlying engagement interface associated with the firearm. Such a consideration also negates any sharing of discrete accessories unless both parties to the exchange have a firearm equipped with the same accessory mounting engagement interface and/or a respective adapter configured to cooperate with a respective accessory. The latter of which would commonly require in-field separation of the accessory from the mounting interface and association of the accessory with the alternative mounting interface adapter rendering the association susceptible to lost parts and/or commonly requiring the availability of various tools to effectuate the separation between the accessory and the underlying respective adapters.
Therefore, there is a need for a firearm accessory mount adapter and system platform that can securely cooperate with a first engagement interface configuration, such as the M-Lok® or KEYMOD® engagement interface configuration, and which provides a second engagement interface configuration in the other of an M-Lok® or KEYMOD® engagement interface configuration.